Dedicated team recognised for their years of hard work at local nature reserve

London Wildlife Trust chief executive Gordon Scorer (centre) with Gunnersbury Triangle volunteers Margaret Berger (left) and Jan Hewlett (right).

Dedicated volunteers who have worked for three decades to save and protect Gunnersbury Triangle, a London Wildlife Trust nature reserve, scooped a top prize at the London RE:LEAF Tree and Woodland Awards.

Gunnersbury Triangle volunteers – including the long-standing Margaret Berger, Jan Hewlett, Peter Leon and Anne Mayo, as well as Christine Leon, Andy Brown, Emma Robertshaw and Ian Alexander – carry out wide-ranging activities such as site management, organising open days, species surveys, biodiversity monitoring, and supporting Trust staff on educational work and fundraising.

The Gunnersbury Triangle Steering Group consists of several volunteers who have played a critical role in the Chiswick nature reserve’s management since 1985, when the Trust took on its management. Four of these volunteers were part of the landmark campaign that led to a planning inquiry decision in 1983, preventing the highly biodiverse 2.5ha birch/willow woodland being built on.

In Thursday’s ceremony at London City Hall the steering group were presented with the Acorn Award, a prize given each year to people who have “made a particular contribution to promoting or conserving trees”.

Gordon Scorer, chief executive of London Wildlife Trust, said: “The group’s long-standing dedication to the Triangle is remarkable and they fully deserve this award. By ensuring the reserve remains a local community asset, playing an important role in the narrative of London’s nature conservation history, the volunteers should be applauded. It is clear that without their energy and passion Gunnersbury Triangle wouldn’t be here today.”

The London Tree and Woodland Awards have been held since 2008 with the aim of celebrating work which protects, improves and expands the capital’s tree and woodland cover; inspires others to manage their trees and woodlands; and raises the profile of London’s woodlands.

June 3, 2016